Rules of Friendship | 18+

𝘚𝘪𝘹 ♡

𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦

➵➵➵➵➵➵➵♡➵➵➵➵➵➵➵

The hours before Serenity got home last night were agonizing.

Every minute Serenity spent with her date felt like a year between us. I spent an hour with Sam and Bucky in the living room, but they spent most of the time poking fun at the fact I wanted to rip someone's head off because she was on a date. So after, I hid in her room, hoping to God that she decided to come home. If she didn't, I'm not sure I would've made it through the night. And when she finally stepped through the bedroom door, I felt my heart explode, she was so goddamn beautiful and she needed to be mine.

See, what people don't realize or purposely ignore is when you fall in love with someone you consider your best friend, if the relationship fizzles, so does the friendship. Before I could even consider the idea of showing my love for Serenity, which I knew the day I met her it would be impossible not to fall in love with her, I had to consider if it was worth the risk of losing my friendship if things didn't work out. I had decided, it would be worth it, because I love her, I've tried to force myself to ignore the signs, the possibility of her being in love with me, because I didn't want to admit to myself I was in love with her.

But now, laying in her bed, with Serenity in my shirt, her back to my chest, I knew it would be worth every possible risk to have her. Now I just needed to convince her that I wanted her, not as a one-night stand, but as a possible forever.

It was Serenity's day off, and she desperately needed the sleep, her chest was rising and falling with deep breaths even in the warm bedroom. My hand had slipped under her shirt in the night, resting in the space below her breasts but above her stomach, confirming to me that she was breathing throughout the night. It had become a fear of mine, to have her stop breathing in her sleep. When we were sixteen, right after her parents split and she was living with her mom, Serenity fell sick. The doctors called it a bad cold mixed with the flu, but it felt like it was so much worse.

Serenity's mom was a nurse, she worked overnight shifts at the hospital and she couldn't get anyone to cover her shift that night. So, she called me and I was staying with Serenity, around three am that night, she was having a hard time breathing, and nothing I did was making it easier on her, so I called the emergency services, rode with Serenity to the hospital, and when her mom rushed into the room, seeing Serenity curled in my lap with oxygen in her nose, we both burst into tears. Ms. Parks thanked me, and I was crying because I almost lost my best friend.

So now, every time I stayed with her, at some point in the night my hand would slide up her shirt so I could make sure, I didn't want to risk losing her.

Serenity waking up was one of the cutest things I'd ever seen. She'd try to fight the daylight, pulling the blankets over her head, scrunching her nose, and curling further into me. Like I'd be able to fight off the hours of awakeness, she'd always done that. And eventually, when she knew she'd have no other choice than to wake up, she'd blink a few times, stretching her legs to the point her toes curled, this morning was no different, except her slow waking was brought to a screeching halt when Ms. Parks rushed through the bedroom door.

"Serenity Rose Parks," my hand fell to Serenity's hip when she sat up, blinking at her mother a few times, "You promised me you'd follow through this year," Serenity's face scrunched up, confusion rolling over her face. I watched as Serenity's eyes widened, collapsing back into the bed, right into my arms and I chuckled, rolling onto my back so she was lying on my chest with legs on either side of my hips. "Serenity!"

"I'm sorry Mom," With the blankets covering her waist, I slid my hands up her back under the shirt, tracing the shape of her tattoo and exploring the landscape of her body, where each dip and curve was, the spots that made her skin goosebump, a bite to my neck was a silent warning, but my body flushed with arousal, and I had to hide my face in her hair to stop a noise from leaving my mouth. "I'll be there soon, I promise. I haven't thought of theater since last semester, I'll go, tell them I'm going to get dressed, and head over."